Live commentary

Last Updated:
16/01/13 10:37pm

Thanks for all your comments today folks! Don't forget, you can always follow me on Twitter: @RazMirza to send me your views so speak to you all soon!

FULL-TIME: Home is where the turmoil is for Rafa Benitez's Chelsea as visitors Southampton come from two goals down to earn a point. Demba Ba scored his first Premier League goal for the club at home and his third in 11 days against their opponents before Eden Hazard put the Blues in a comfortable lead before the break. But substitute Rickie Lambert struck two minutes and 47 seconds after coming on and Jason Puncheon grabbed a point with a wonderful equaliser to push Saints three clear of the drop zone.

At the other end, Chelsea win a free-kick about 30-yards from goal, but David Luiz's strike is charged down by the wall despite claims for a penalty by the home supporters.

Magnificent equaliser for Southampton and superb play down the left from 17-year-old Luke Shaw, who beat Cesar Azpilicueta before delivering a cross which sat up nicely for Puncheon to smash his effort into the back of the net in a blink of an eye.

Richard Chaplow is warming up and he looks to be coming on for Nigel Adkins' side as Chelsea keep possession and look to take the sting out of the game.

Ben is a little shocked: "Can't believe we've conceded to a man who has just come on. Still, I think we will win 5-1 with Ba getting another, Lampard with a penalty and Torres of the bench. C'mon you blues!!"

The second half has started in the same fashion as the first. The tempo is very slow once again and Chelsea seem happy enough to sit back and counter-attack.

Dan is mystified: "How come Southampton left out their greatest goal threat and their most creative players in Lambert and Ramires? Seems like they were playing for a draw! I hope chelsea take Ba off now he has got a goal seen as i havn't got him in my dream team."

Ashley Cole gets forward and attempts an audacious chip from just inside the area, from the angle, but Artur Boruc handles well.

Richard Shirran emails in to say: "A slow start from Chelsea ,but once they got in their stride it seemed like they could score for fun. But Saints are not laying down and they are trying to take the game to Chelsea. This could make for an interesting second half."

Chelsea's Premier League record when they've been two goals up at half-time is W87 D1 L1, with the only defeat coming against Norwich in September 1992. Not good news if your a Southampton fan as the hosts get the second half underway.

If you'd like to air your views during the second half, email Raz...that's me! at razwan.mirza@bskyb.com or Tweet me: @RazMirza and I'll publish as many as I can.

Chelsea are now 1/100 to claim victory with @Skybet, who make Southampton 100/1 and the draw 25/1. The Blues have won their last five league and cup games against Southampton, scoring a total of 15 goals, so I went for an easy home win - 3-0, which was priced at a steady 13/2 before the game and is now 11/4. Head now to SKYBET to place your bets on this match.

HALF-TIME: Chelsea comfortably lead Southampton at the break. They broke the deadlock after 25 minutes thanks to Demba Ba who saw his right-foot volley take a slight deflection to beat Artur Boruc at his near post. They doubled their advantage in stoppage time as Ramires smashed his effort against the post but Eden Hazard finished the move off with a controlled left-foot strike from just inside area.

Perfect timing for the Blues as we approach the break. Southampton fail to clear a corner which allows Ramires to smash his deflected shot off the post, but the Belgian controls his volley from the edge of the box past Artur Boruc and into the corner. Lovely finish.

CHANCE!! Maya Yoshida finds Jay Rodriguez with a fine straight pass and the striker controls the ball in an instant before laying it off for Steven Davis, but he can only sidefoot the ball wide of the far post. Unlucky!

@RyanCParry Tweets: "4-1 to the blues, Torres to come on at half-time, some the fans who's top priority between himself and Ba."

Chelsea will open up a four point gap over fourth-placed Tottenham if they secure all three points tonight and that Ba goal was exactly what they've been missing in attack.

Frank Lampard plays the ball back for Cesar Azpilicueta whose cross is deflected up in the air by Jos Hooiveld and Ba swivels to sends his right-foot shot into the far corner past Artur Boruc. That's his third goal against Southampton in a matter of 11 days.

The 16th minute has been and gone with the home fans standing for their No.16 Roberto Di Matteo of course.

Stephen Garbett emails in to say: "I personally think Chelsea have already lined up their next manager, and Rafa is being used to do the dirty work. Whoever comes in will almost certainly be popular as not being Rafa."

Now Chelsea are on the ball and David Luiz decides to come out of defence as he looks to find Demba Ba, but the striker fails to control the super pass.

Martin Batten says: "Huge Saints fan here, going to be a very open game. Saints will struggle to get three points but with a bit of luck and Jay's pace we could easily open Chelsea up and get the early goal. 2-2."

Great comments ladies and gents! Please keep them coming in as we approach the 7:45pm kick-off here at Stamford Bridge. Email Raz...that's me! at razwan.mirza@bskyb.com or Tweet me: @RazMirza and I'll publish as many as I can.

While @Niall_McGrath has the same idea as me and Rudy: "I'm going to call it as being 3-0 to Chelsea."

@rudybiggingtonn simply Tweets: "Comfortable 3-0 win for Chelsea."

@CamWittyBanter5 Tweets: "I think it will be a good game tonight with both sides getting good chances I see a thriller 3-3 with Ba definitely to score."

Kayode Akinjare says: "This is an important encounter for the Blues! In my own view, it's gonn be 4-0 for Chelsea with Ba having a brace. Mata and Lamps would also be on the score sheet. Torres should fasten his seat belt and warm the bench as the thrilling encounter progresses!"

Chelsea fan Matt from Kettering says: "Can only see a home win, however with our home form being so poor at the minute I don't think it will be as easy as it was when we played each other in the cup. 2-0 win with Mata scoring and Oscar hitting an absolute screamer! Come on you Blues! "

PhilandIris Ellis makes a point about Pep Guardiola joining Bayern Munich: "We can all heave a sigh of relief now that Pep is going to Bayern. Remember, this is the manager of the alleged best team in the world and they couldn't beat us in 2 games - one of which we played for 50 odd minutes with only 10 men!!!!"

Brian Crowe reckons it'll be easy for the Blues tonight: "Chelsea to win comfortably tonight.... Going for 5-1 or 4-1 with Mata to grab 2 and 1 from Hazard and Ba .... Come on the Blues!"

Anthony in Dublin is first to write in and he says: "I think Chelsea will win this but they have had some slips at home. It will interesting to see if Ba can try solve that. And will he or Torres start." Well Anthony, we know now that Ba starts ahead of the Spaniard.

Chelsea are 2/9 to claim victory with our friends @Skybet, who make Southampton 11/1 and the draw 5/1. Frank Lampard has scored seven goals in eight Premier League starts for the Blues this season. He has also scored four goals in his last three League appearances against Southampton and he's a 9/2 shot to score first tonight. If you fancy a scorecast boost, then why not put your money on Demba Ba to score first and Chelsea to win 3-0, which is a handy 16/1. For Saints, Jay Rodriguez to score first is 14/1 while Guilherme Do Prado is a 20/1 shot. The west Londoners have won their last five league and cup games against Southampton, scoring a total of 15 goals, so I'm hedging my bets and going for an easy home win - 3-0, which is priced at a steady 13/2. Head now to SKYBET to place your bets on this match.

CHELSEA TEAM NEWS: Gary Cahill returns to the Blues starting line-up with Branislav Ivanovic moving to the bench. David Luiz remains at centre-back alongside the England international while Frank Lampard continues alongside Ramires in midfield. Oscar replaces Ryan Bertrand with Demba Ba selected as centre-forward ahead of Fernando Torres. John Terry is again among the subs.

SOUTHAMPTON TEAM NEWS: Right-back Nathaniel Clyne returns for Saints with Jack Cork moving to midfield and James Ward-Prowse making way. Jos Hooiveld replaces injured captain Jose Fonte while Jay Rodriguez is preferred to Rickie Lambert in attack. The Englishman - scorer of nine goal this season - drops to the bench.

For Southampton, Jose Fonte, Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw are injured, while Emmanuel Mayuka is at the African Cup of Nations with Zambia. Although they lost 5-1 to Chelsea in the FA Cup less than two weeks ago, Nigel Adkins' Saints are in team good form, taking 17 points from their last 11 Premier League games, just one fewer than Chelsea. Their last away match, at Aston Villa, brought three points that lifted them out of the relegation zone. "Chelsea are under pressure to win every game and it will be interesting to see if Rafa Benitez can win the fans around. We have a point to prove," admitted Adkins.

The Blues' last two home games - defeats against QPR in the league and Swansea in the League Cup - have finished with them being booed off the pitch but they excelled at the weekend, a 4-0 win at Stoke, and also welcomed John Terry back from injury. The club captain may start his first game since November, while Gary Cahill is also available after missing the Stoke match. Although the west Londoners have won five consecutive away games, scoring 17 goals, their home form has been poor. Benitez is expected to urge his side to go for the jugular and maximise his team's attacking potency with both Demba Ba and Fernando Torres available for selection. Winning against Southampton, a fixture postponed from December, would put Chelsea four points behind second-placed Manchester City.